  
Note: Asheville Citizen-Times no longer archives its reviews for free on its website. Following
is the text of Tony Kiss's review of immediate theatre project and North Carolina Stage Company's production of
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, printed in the 'Take 5'
section on 7 December 2006.
"It's A Wonderful Life" a great holiday treat at N.C. Stage by Tony Kiss tkiss@citizen-times.com published December 7, 2006 10:46 am ASHEVILLE — For a different kind of holiday event, tune into "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," now running at the downtown N.C. Stage Company. This very cool show — a joint production with the immediate theatre project of Asheville — takes the famous Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart movie and performs it like an old-time radio show. In another twist, it's been recorded by WCQS-88.1-FM and will air later this month. Adapted for the stage and radio by Joe Landry and directed here by Hans Meyer, it doesn't try to copy the film in any way, other than the story. It’s performed a single act, running about 80 minutes. It's something like "The 1940s Radio Hour," an often-performed holiday piece about an old-time comedy-variety show. But in "Radio Hour," the focus is on the radio actors, all wacky or colorful characters. In "Wonderful Life," the “radio cast” just comes out and does the show, complete with sound effects and some fab 1940s costuming. The talented Willie Repoley is good-guy George Bailey who learns the meaning of his life. Lauren Fortuna is stunning as his loving wife Mary. David Novak gets great moments as the show's announcer, nasty old man Potter, and in his role as befuddled Uncle Billy. In some scenes, he actually switches voices and has conversations with himself, as radio actors often did. Jonathan Frappier does a nice turn as Clarence the Angel (and other voices) and Kathryn Temple comes through saucy Violet and others. Chris Holleman may have the most fun, getting to break glass, and bang on things as the sound effects guy. Listen for the local Asheville commercials in the show. None of them hams it up or steals the show, but all give quality performances. It's another triumph for N.C. Stage and immediate theatre project, and a show that clicks with both younger and older audiences. |